1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, system, and program for managing groups of objects when there are different group types.
2. Description of the Related Art
A storage management program, such as International Business Machines Corporation (IBM®) Tivoli® Storage Manager,** maintains an image of the data and programs on systems in a network. The storage management program uses its own storage, such as tape cartridges, as a repository for managed data. In the event of a system failure or other event that results in a loss of data on the network systems, the storage management program may be used to restore the data and programs from the storage repository. IBM, Tivoli, and Tivoli Storage Manager are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.
In the prior art, the storage management program may define a group as specific objects to be managed, such as data files, database files, programs, etc. A group is a collection of distinct objects, which are managed as a single logical entity to maintain referential consistency in the event that these objects are accessed from the storage management program. The objects are grouped because they are related to each other in a meaningful way, such as a set of files that together make up a software application, e.g., a database. When storing these objects, the storage management program processes all the received objects specified in the group, writes the received objects to its own storage, and then saves metadata for the objects showing that they are grouped together.
The copending and commonly assigned patent application entitled “Method, System, and Program for Grouping Objects” having U.S. application Ser. No. 10/120,015, filed on Apr. 10, 2002, discloses techniques for managing storage objects so the objects may be associated with different object groups in a flexible manner, and that storage objects can be added as members to multiple object groups and storage objects can be added to or removed from object groups across backup transactions.